One of the most important artistic personalities of Salento, even though not so much honoured in his birth place, is Matteo Perez a painter and an engraver born in the hamlet of Alezio in 1547. At the age of 20 he left for Rome where he became one of the best disciples of Michelangelo's and his willing helper in the painting of the Sistina Chapel. He painted in fact St. Antony surrounded by demons and St. Michael.
He attended the Academy of St. Luke and took orders from two popes: Pius V (1566-1572) and Gregory XIII (1572-1585)
He then left Rome and after a short period in Naples , in 1576 he went to Malta where he produced masterpieces of art among which twelve paintings on wood describing the siege of Malta by the Turks (May 1565) that embellish the hall of the Board Room in the Bench in La Valletta, Malta's capital town.
Matteo Perez died in Lima (Peru') in 1616.

The construction of the church planned by the architect Turco and set in a central location was started in 1838 and ended in 1875. It was dedicated to the Madonna Addolorata. Between 1838 and 1840 a clock, at a cost of 3,825 lire, paid in advance by the benefactor Saveri Muia, was also made.
Worth mentioning is Palazzo Tafuri which bears on the front door the coat of arms representing an oak tree not to be struck by lightnings in relief. Each vault of the rooms of the palace is different from the others and one in particular is in the form of a Maltese cross.
A portrait of the noble Tafuri family attributed to Reni is painted on the altar piece on the right in the church dedicated to the Addolorata .
Palazzo Tafuri is now the seat of the museum which together with the lovely gardens of the country mansions and the exquisite handiworks in carparo (the local stone harder and darker than Lecce stone) attract a lot of tourists . The town offers many opportunities for dining and wining for the high quality of the slow food and the aromatic red and rosè wines made in this area ( Tuglie, Sannicola, Gallipoli).
Also Maria Corti, a famous Italian writer in her novel "L'ora di tutti" which tells the siege of Otranto by the Turks in 1480 refers to the sweet and strong wine from Alezio drank in large quantities by Ayerbo of Aragon the Spanish Governor of Otranto.